David E. Kaiser, born June 7, 1947, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 whose published works have covered a broad range of topics, from European Warfare to American League Baseball. He is a Professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the Naval War College

Naval War College

The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...

 and has previously taught at Carnegie Mellon, Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

, and Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

.

Early life

The son of a diplomat, Kaiser spent his childhood in three capital cities: Washington D.C., Albany, New York, and Dakar, Senegal. He attended Harvard University, graduating with a B.A. in history in 1969. He then spent several years at Harvard University gaining a PhD in history, which he obtained in 1976. He served in the Army Reserve from 1970 to 1976.

Published works

His works include: Economic Diplomacy and the Origins of the Second World War, Postmortem: New Evidence in the Case of Sacco and Vanzetti (with William Young

William Young

-Bills:* Bill Young , United States Representative from Florida's 10th congressional district* Bill Young , American football player* Bill Young , Australian rules footballer...

), Politics and War: European Conflict from Philip II to Hitler, and Epic Season: The 1948 American League Pennant Race. His book, American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War, was winner of the 2001 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award (History Category). The Road to Dallas, which examined the evidence in the Kennedy Assassination was published in 2008. In December 2008 he published a collection of his blog entries History Unfolding : Crisis and Rebirth in American Life 2004-2008.

Currently

In order to give current events an historical perspective, Kaiser writes on his blog History Unfolding, a post titled A historian's comments on current events, foreign and domestic. Kaiser's newest book, The Road to Dallas, about the Kennedy assassination, was published by Harvard University Press

Harvard University Press

Harvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...

 in 2009.

In April 2009, a viral email comparing Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 to the rise of the Third Reich was wrongly http://historyunfolding.blogspot.com/2009/05/foreign-policy-wisdom.html attributed to Kaiser. Kaiser has stated that the email is a forgery. The email does not reflect Kaiser's actual views. Snopes.com http://snopes.com/politics/soapbox/proportions.asp traced the email content to an anonymous commenter on Pat Dollard

Pat Dollard

Patrick Dollard is an American documentary filmmaker. In the 1990s he was a Hollywood talent agent, manager, and producer most known for guiding the career of Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh....

's blog.

External links

• Interview with Kaiser on "New Books in History."